Modular folding floor chair

ABSTRACT

A modular folding floor chair including seat and back portions substantially identical in shape and appearance. Chair units may be used alone or in combination and may be placed on the floor or on a supporting standard. Each of the chair units may be opened or closed and when closed function as a table surface. The adjacent hinged ends of the seat and back portions taper longitudinally inwardly and abut each other to limit the opening of the chair unit to an included angle of approximately 105*. The seat and back portions have ends opposite the hinge which also taper longitudinally inwardly and present a front appearance substantially identical to the back appearance when the chair unit is closed. Magnetic means may be provided in adjacent sides of the chair units to secure them together when more than one is being used and in the back and seat portions to maintain the units in a closed condition.

United States Patent Shivvers [54] MODULAR FOLDING FLOOR CHAHR Melvin D. Shivvers, 4018 University, Des Moines, Iowa 50311 [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1970 [21] Appl.N0.: 32,163

[72] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl ..297/l25, 297/248, 297/378 Primary ExaminerJames C. Mitchell Attorney-Zarley, McKee & Thomte [5 7] ABSTRACT A modular folding floor chair including seat and back portions substantially identical in shape and appearance. Chair units may be used alone or in combination and may be placed on the floor or on a supporting standard. Each of the chair units may be opened or closed and when closed function as a table surface. The adjacent hinged ends of the seat and back portions taper longitudinally inwardly and abut each other to limit the opening of the chair unit to an included angle of approximately 105. The seat and back portions have ends opposite the hinge which also taper longitudinally inwardly and present a front appearance substantially identical to the back appearance when the chair unit is closed. Magnetic means may be provided in adjacent sides of the chair units to secure them together when more than one is being used and in the back and seat portions to maintain the units in a closed condition.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures MDDULAR FOLDING FLOOR CHAR A prerequisite of modern furniture is that it be attractive in appearance and versatile in use. The modular folding floor chair of this invention is quite modemistic in appearance in using substantially identical seat and back portions which may be folded together to provide a compact package for using as a table surface or'for storage. The modular folding floor chair has no legs and may be placed directly on the floor or' on a benchlike structure. When using three of the chair units for example the center one may be closed to function as a table while the other two on opposite sides thereof may be opened to provide seating. A magnetic means may be provided in adjacent sides of the chair units to secure them together and maintain them in alignment on a bench or the like. Additional magnets may be used in the back and seat portions to maintain them closed.

The longitudinally inwardly tapering ends of both the seat and back portions provide a similar front and back ap' pearance to the chair unit when it is closed. The sides are preferably vertical and may include a peripherally extending shoulder in which the magnetic means is placed.

A cushion may be placed in each of the seat and back portions and held therein by a detachable fastener such as the Velcro fastener.

The open position of the chair unit is determined by the angle of the longitudinal taper of the adjacent ends which are hinged together since they will matingly engage each other when in the fully opened condition forming an open angle of 105.

These and other features and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description when taken into consideration with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a three chair unit on a bench support;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing two chair units in their closed position functioning as decorative tables;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single-chair unit in its open position;

F IG. 1 is a side elevation view of the chair in its closed position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation view of two chair units in their closed position; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 in FIG. 3.

The modular folding chair of this invention is referred to generally in FIG. 3 by the reference numeral 10 and is seen to include a seat portion 12. connected by a hinge 14 to a back portion 16. The seat and back portions 12 and 16 are substantially identical in their shape and appearance. The seat portion 12 has a rear longitudinally inwardly tapering edge 18 having an angle of 52.50 which is adapted to matingly engage a similarly shaped tapering edge 20 having an angle of 52.50 on the back portion 16 as seen in FIG. 3 to limit the included angle between the seat and back portions when the chair unit is in its open position to an angle of 105". When the chair unit is closed as seen in FIG. 4 the two rear end portions 18 and 20 form an inwardly extending V which is symmetrical in appearance to the inwardly extending V from the front of the chair unit as formed by longitudinally inwardly tapering front end portions 22 and'24 on the seat and back portions respectively. The longitudinal sidewalls 26 and 28 of the seat and back portions 12 and 16 are vertically disposed.

A peripherally extending shoulder strip 30 extends along the sidewalls 26 and across the front wall 22 of the seat portion 12 as well as along the back portion sidewall 28 and across the front end wall 24. Cooperating magnets 32 are imbedded in each of the shoulders along the sides to secure the adjacent seat and back portions of adjacent units together when two or more are positioned in side by side relationship as seen for example in FIG. 1 and'FlG. 5. Additionally, magnets 33 are provided in the front opposing end walls of the seat and back portions to hold the unit closed as seen in FIG. 2.

The interior construction of the seat and back portions is illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the seat portion 12 is constructed of a bottom wall 36 over which a cushion support wall 38 extends. A cushion 40 is positioned in the seat structure and on the support wall 38 where it is detachably secured in place by a convenient detachable fastener such as a Velcro fastener 44.

The back portion 16 includes an outer wall surface 50 which functions as a table top when the unit is in its closed position as seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4t.

As seen in FIG. 3, the modular folding floor chair may be placed directly on the floor 60 or may be placed on a bench 62 which as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the dash lines includes spaced-apart support blocks 64$.

It is apparent that the modular folding floor chair 10 is extremely versatile in use and may be used alone or in combination with any number of other chair units in contiguous or spaced-apart relationship asseen respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is further apparent that the seat portion 12 and the back portion 16 may be reversed in their positions of use such that the back portion 16 becomes a seat and the seat portion 12 becomes a back. Moreover the bottom wall 36 of the seat portion 12 upon the unit being turned over could function as the table top surface 50 if desired. Since the seat and back portions 12 and 16 are similar in design and shape they may be manufactured in volume and connected together by a pianotype hinge 14 with a minimum of time and labor being involved. The abutting end portions 18 and 20 serve to give the unit substantial strength when in the opened position of FIG. 3.

Storage of the chair unit is simple and convenient by virtue of the compactness of the chair unit since it has no legs and may be folded closed to the position of FIG. 41 whereupon the unit may be stacked in any desired manner. Other possibilities of arrangement and use of the chair unit of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my modular folding floor chair without department from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. A modular folding floor chair furniture unit comprising, seat and back portions pivotally interconnected,

said seat and back portions being substantially mirror images of each other in their assembled relationship,

said seat and back portions are pivotally interconnected by hinge means to move between open and closed positions, said seat and back portions in said closed position each present to table surface. on the back side thereof and in said open position said seat and back portions form an approximately angle therebetween and present a seat structure,

said each of said seat and back portions have inner and outer surfaces defining rear end portions therebetween, said hinge means being connected to each of said end portions along said inner surfaces thereof and each of said end portions taper longitudinally forwardly from outer to inner surfaces and are in mating engagement with each other when said seat and back portions are in said open position thereby limiting the angle therebetween to which said seat and back portions can open,

said hinge means includes a pair of hinge elements extending the substantial width of said seat and back portions and integrally connected to said inner surfaces, said hinge elements being pivotally interconnected along a single transverse axis, and

said seat and back portions each having front end portions remote from said hinge means and said front end portions taper longitudinally rearwardly at' approximately the angle of taper on said rear end portions whereby the front and rear, opposite sides, and top and bottom appearances respectively of said furniture unit are substantially identical when in said closed position.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the front sides of each of said seat and back portions are formed by removable cushions received in compartments formed therein.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein fastening means is providcd along at least one longitudinal side of at least the seat portion and said fastening means is adapted to engage a cooperating fastening means on an adjacent furniture unit.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein a plurality of furniture units of like structure are positioned in side by side relationship.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein cooperating fastening means are provided on adjacent sides of seat portions of each 

1. A modular folding floor chair furniture unit comprising, seat and back portions pivotally iNterconnected, said seat and back portions being substantially mirror images of each other in their assembled relationship, said seat and back portions are pivotally interconnected by hinge means to move between open and closed positions, said seat and back portions in said closed position each present to table surface on the back side thereof and in said open position said seat and back portions form an approximately 105* angle therebetween and present a seat structure, said each of said seat and back portions have inner and outer surfaces defining rear end portions therebetween, said hinge means being connected to each of said end portions along said inner surfaces thereof and each of said end portions taper longitudinally forwardly from outer to inner surfaces and are in mating engagement with each other when said seat and back portions are in said open position thereby limiting the angle therebetween to which said seat and back portions can open, said hinge means includes a pair of hinge elements extending the substantial width of said seat and back portions and integrally connected to said inner surfaces, said hinge elements being pivotally interconnected along a single transverse axis, and said seat and back portions each having front end portions remote from said hinge means and said front end portions taper longitudinally rearwardly at approximately the angle of taper on said rear end portions whereby the front and rear, opposite sides, and top and bottom appearances respectively of said furniture unit are substantially identical when in said closed position.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the front sides of each of said seat and back portions are formed by removable cushions received in compartments formed therein.
 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein fastening means is provided along at least one longitudinal side of at least the seat portion and said fastening means is adapted to engage a cooperating fastening means on an adjacent furniture unit.
 4. The structure of claim 1 wherein a plurality of furniture units of like structure are positioned in side by side relationship.
 5. The structure of claim 4 wherein cooperating fastening means are provided on adjacent sides of seat portions of each of said furniture units to detachably maintain them together.
 6. The structure of claim 5 wherein said fastening means is defined as magnetic means and each of said furniture units have abutting side shoulder portions in which said magnetic means is carried.
 7. The structure of claim 2 wherein said seat and back portions include cooperating magnet means for maintaining said positions together when in said closed position. 